Group 2-1st Markdown Project

Raphael Lee, Javier Bolong, Allen Abel, Tricia Pulmano

07/12/2021

Why do we need to study and analyze data?

Javier Bolong

Data in essence is information grouped together in the form of statistics and graphs. Being able to analyze what the meaning is behind all of the numbers, means more knowledge in the topic the data pertains too. With this, people can make decisions to adapt to the information given. Without people with the skills in interpreting data correctly, the people who need it will take unguided actions, leading to mistakes and accidents in the future.

Raphael Lee

Data is integral in our daily lives as regular internet users. Data shares similar qualities to words, having the power to define different parameters. (like determining someone’s preference or buying pattern) Collecting data informs us of different results and can help us earn money if we find patterns and make certain decisions.

Take the auto industry for example. Data is present from the Research and development stage up until the final sale at the dealership. Car manufacturers use previous data from previous sales to understand which types of products or parts work well while also gathering data on experimental products. The data helps engineers develop a car for a specific use by analyzing the target market’s wants and needs.

Arranging it into a list:
  1. Defining parameters like preference, buying patterns, or collecting measurements
  2. Finding patterns (like stocks or sales)
  3. Helps us make decisions in life

The Mazda FD RX-7

1 The picture to the left shows the prices of a Mazda FD RX7 For a company to come up with this kind of pricing, a lot of data analysis is involved. The company has to analyze their target demographic and has to factor in the costs of manufacturing and marketing to come up with a reasonable profit margin so that they can earn.They also have to decipher whether they are offering a midrange product or a high end one.

Allen Abel

First of all it can help a person improve their analytical skills which can be useful in some fields. It can also be used to make an informed decision, by backing or disproving arguments or optimization that will improve something.

But the most important thing on why we need to study and analyze data is that data can be used to influence a lot of things from a regular person everyday activities to that of a country’s economy and government.

Tricia Pulmano

Data is meaningless unless it can be converted into valuable information, which is why it is necessary to study and analyze data. Data science enables one’s questions/ queries to be answered through the information provided by the organized/statistically-analyzed data, leading one to make data-driven decisions/ solutions or even predictions.

For businesses and organizations, a data-driven approach means companies examine and organize their data leading to better service to their consumers. Making sense of data can lead to saving money, effective marketing and more efficient operations.

There is also a need to study data as data science is becoming more important in almost every field. Since data about almost everything is available on the web, data analysis can be applied to various fields. Therefore, learning how to analyze data can increase one’s job opportunities.

One instance or application where data science was used.

Javier Bolong

Data Science was used in helping governments to make proper policies to adapt to the pandemic. One specific instance is lifting certain restrictions of quarantine here in the Philippines. Due to the nature of the virus, the government had to take necessary action to limit human traffic, negatively affecting many businesses which in turn negatively affect the economy.

2 The organization and color coding of data was very important as it helps readers distinguish different parts of the data set. Data/statistics on the state of the pandemic were constantly being updated monthly. With the help of some experts, the government deduced it was time to start allowing non-essential businesses to function to a limited degree. Without data scientists, the government might have done this in a worse time, worsening the already dire situation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Raphael Lee

One modern day application of data science today would be the use of Youtube recommendations. Many users call it the “Youtube algorithm.”

It uses users’ data and watching patterns to determine what type of videos to show on the home page. This set of data is personalized, varying between person to person, meaning that every person has a different set of videos recommended to them based on what they like.

Specifically it analyzes:
  • User’s search and watch history.
  • Watch time on a specific channel or topic.
  • What videos a user is likely to click on.
  • Their patterns of likes and dislikes.

All of these serve to bring a more optimized experience to a certain user by catering to their interests. This also results in better traffic to Youtube and gives more exposure to smaller channels who have good content but are not that well known.

Allen Abel

It can be used in business where it can help the company save money. An example of this is the Network Planning Tool that UPS created to be able to optimize package transport from drop-off to delivery.

They achieve this by using machine learning and AI to simulate a variety of routes and the program will pick the best ones. According to a company forecast, the platform could save UPS 100 to 200 million.

Not only it can be use to save money, companies can also used it to be able to have the maximum profit. This is most prevalent online where a lot of data and statistics are used to determine what kind of advertisment that will be shown and how to retain the most amount of time. This is shown in popular websites like Google, Youtube, Facebook.

Another field in which it can be used is in sports. One of this is RSPCT: BASKETBALL-COACHING SENSOR that the is being use in NBA. RSPCT’s shooting analysis system tracked and record when and where the ball strikes on each basket attempt by using sensor on a basketball hoop’s rim. It funnels that data to a device that displays shot details in real time and generates predictive insights.

Tricia Pulmano

Policy making - Data and the ability to quickly process them makes way for a government to be more responsive. Knowing that a problem exists is frequently not enough, it is also important to know what are the factors that affect this problem and how they interact with each other and this can be known through data and its analysis. Having this knowledge can help which things to consider in policy making. For instance, in a report on the possibility of a terrorist attack on drinking water supplies, the Government Accountability Office noted that experts consulted “most strongly supported developing real-time monitoring technologies to quickly detect contaminants in treated drinking water on its way to consumers.”

Market trends - Netflix, which is one of the biggest streaming platforms as of now, makes use of data science/ analytics, which played a role in the company’s success. From their 150 million subscribers, Netflix gathers data regarding their consumer’s watching information such as the time and date a user watched a show, the device used, when the show was paused, when it was resumed, shows that were finished, searches, recommendations and others. This data, along with the use of analytic tools, allows Netflix to know the current market trends which can be used in making future decisions/ releases. This decides which original contents/ shows will be greenlit.

Data Science Topic Proposal

Javier Bolong

In the modern world, data mining is essential knowledge. We are in an age where information is large in quantity and widespread throughout the known world. To process this amount of data is what data mining does. Further innovations in to this field will help in making more accurate reads and analysis on data. Graphs can be a first step towards that venture.

Perhaps looking into examples like histograms can help me improve on existing models or come up with new ones. However, there is still much research done from past data scientists for this particular field, which can help me in learning whatever needs to be known about it. Large companies will most likely benefit from this study. They are often associated with a large amount of clientele and assets. There will be a huge amount of information that comes from this and there will be a demand for experts to sort this through.

Raphael Lee

A Data Science topic I would like to explore would be Classification. Classification means that data is defined and categorized into certain parameters. It can also help distinguish certain data from each other.(such as fake or spam emails from real emails) With classification, this makes visualization of data easier as the data is clearly defined.

An application of classification would be the analysis of keywords and sentence patterns in messages and emails. Classification could also be used in marketing to target a specific market by analyzing data on which methods and words are most effective.

I believe that many people would benefit from this study since the software would increase the efficiency of analyzing data and optimize its use for different applications.

Allen Abel

A chatbot is a software application used to conduct an online chat conversation via text or text-to-speech instead of a human. I chose this because of how prevalent chatbots arein todays society and how customizable it is. It can be used to help us in alot of things like automating tasks, act as a communication medium and to even use as a mean to play games.

Since a chatbot is very customizable to whatever the programmer’s goal, there are many kinds data that can be used into making the bot. Even if there are not that many data available, the more people uses and input information into the bot it itself can be the source of data into which it can improve on. Some of the statistical method that can be use are surveys which can be use to improve the bot, cluster sampling and Sample Size Determination to have a data on which the bot will be exposed to and Regression to determining trends over time, connections that which will help the bot not be outdated and up to date with whats happening with the world. This will benefit alot of people and many companies as. As a good chatbot will optimize and automate alot of things that can save time and resources for both people and the company.

Tricia Pulmano

A data science topic that I would like to pursue would be data visualization. It involves the presentation of data in a graphical format making it easier for viewers to understand the content and see the important patterns and trends. This requires the usage of different types of graphs such as line graphs, bar graphs, box and whiskers plots etc.

A specific study that can be done with this data science topic is generating word clouds based on transcripts of Filipino presidential candidates. Of course, the Filipino citizens would benefit from this study because it can help them learn a little bit more about the candidates through simple visualizations.